When August Ends

He took a moment, seeming to let those words sink in.

“Are you mad that I kept my reason for coming here from you?” he asked.

“Well, what were you supposed to do? Announce it when you got here? I get why you kept it to yourself, why you didn’t come right out and tell me. I probably would’ve wanted to send you packing. It’s better that I got to know you first before you laid this on me.”

He placed his head on my shoulder. “Fuck, Heather. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that. I seriously doubted my decision.”

“I just wish you didn’t see me as a charity case.”

He sat up to look me in the eyes. “Listen, I had my reasons for coming here, but this experience has been nothing like what I expected. You’re not a charity case. You’re strong, confident…amazing. You’ve taught me just as much as I could ever teach you. I’m drawn to you and finding it damn hard not to show it. My actions are scaring the hell out of me…because the last thing I meant to do was complicate your life.”

I sat back on the couch and rested my head. The story he’d told me played through my head from start to finish like a movie as I tried to imagine how everything had gone down.

“Do you have the photos you took of her?”

He pursed his lips for a moment to think about it. “They’re on my laptop, yeah.”

“Can I see them?”

“Of course. Now?”

“If you don’t mind, yes.”

“Just give me a minute to pull them up. I keep everything I’ve ever shot on a special drive.”

I watched as Noah logged in. It took him about three minutes to locate the file containing the photos.

When he placed the computer on my lap, nothing could have prepared me for the emotions I felt looking at image after image of my beautiful, smiling sister. We looked more alike than I remembered. Now that I was getting closer to the age she’d been in these photos, I could really see the resemblance.

Wiping a tear, I asked, “Did she seem off the day you took the photos?”

Noah moved closer to me. “Not at all. That’s why it was so strange when the messages started coming in.”

“That was typical. She was like two different people in many ways, depending on whether she was taking care of herself.”

“Yeah. None of it made sense.”

Not taking my eyes off the images, I said, “I really want to see the letter, too.”

“I have it at home. I know where it is and will have my dad scan it. I should’ve brought it with me. I just really wasn’t anticipating telling you.”

The questions kept coming to me in waves. “Why did you decide to tell me tonight?”

“Because I couldn’t hold it in any more, couldn’t stand the thought of keeping anything from you. A lot has changed between us, and I don’t know how to handle it. I just know I never want to be anything less than completely honest with you. That goes for my feelings about you, too.”

A part of me wanted him to elaborate on that—his feelings for me—but I knew I couldn’t handle anything more tonight. I needed to absorb this.

“Can you download these photos for me?”

“Of course. I’ll buy a thumb drive tomorrow.”

“Thanks.” I continued sifting through the photographs, starting again from the beginning. “I don’t think I’m gonna tell Mom about this. I don’t know how she’d handle it. I don’t want her to view you differently—not that I think there’s any reason to feel differently about you, but I don’t want to upset her.”

“That’s up to you. I get it. I’m okay with anything you decide, but I think that’s a good call. There’s too much going on right now as it is.”

I stared at the screen. “I’m still in shock.”

“It would be strange if you weren’t.”

I needed to be alone to process this.

Getting up off the couch, I wiped my eyes and announced, “I’m gonna go home. I just need to be alone for a while.”

He stood. “Yeah. Of course.”

I handed him the laptop and headed for the door.

Noah looked concerned. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I nodded, then walked home in a daze.CHAPTER EIGHTEEN* * *NOAHHeather hadn’t come by since my revelation. An entire day had passed. Even though I was tempted to go over to the main house, I tried to give her space. My news was a lot to take in.

I couldn’t help but text her, though, to ask if she was okay. She assured me she was, but I didn’t entirely believe her, because it wasn’t like her to stay away. I’d told her I made her a thumb drive of the photos she’d requested and asked if she wanted me to bring it over. She said no. I’d also had my father scan the letter from Opal and added it to the memory stick. The fact that she didn’t even want to see me long enough to receive it confirmed that she was still processing.